NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new study suggests that women
who eat diets rich in meat and dairy may have a decreased risk
of breast cancer, while those who bulk up on fiber, fruits and
vegetables show a lower risk of ovarian cancer.

The findings, published in the International Journal of
Cancer, add to questions surrounding the role of diet in
women's risk of the cancers.

High alcohol intake has been consistently linked to breast
cancer risk, but when it comes to other facets of the diet,
studies have yielded conflicting results, according to the
researchers on the current work, led by Dr. Valeria Edefonti of
the University of Milan.

Some studies, for example, have found that women who eat a
lot of red and processed meat are more likely to develop breast
cancer than other women; but other studies have found no such
link. Saturated fat, found mainly in animal products, has been
tied to higher breast cancer risk in some studies, but not in
others.

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While many of these studies have looked at single nutrients
or food groups, another way to address the question is to look
at dietary patterns -- the combination of nutrients and foods
that a person tends to favor.

For their study, Edefonti and her colleagues assessed
dietary patterns among 3,600 women with either breast or
ovarian cancer, and 3,413 healthy women of the same age.

Using detailed dietary questionnaires, the researchers
identified four common dietary patterns in the study group: an
"animal product" pattern, which was heavy in meat and saturated
fat, but also zinc, calcium and certain other nutrients; a
"vitamins and fiber" pattern, which besides fiber was rich in
vitamin C, beta-carotene and other nutrients found in fruits
and vegetables; an "unsaturated fat" pattern that contained
high amounts of vegetable and fish oils, as well as vitamin E;
and a "starch-rich" pattern high in simple carbohydrates,
vegetable protein and sodium.

Overall, the study found, women who followed a pattern rich
in vitamins and fiber had a 23 percent lower risk of ovarian
cancer than women who consumed the lowest amounts of those
foods and nutrients.

On the other hand, the animal-product pattern was linked to
a similar reduction in breast cancer risk.

Women who followed the unsaturated-fat pattern had a
slightly reduced risk of breast cancer, while the starch-rich
diet was tied to elevated risks of both cancers.

It's not yet clear what to make of the findings, in part
because they show associations between dietary patterns and
cancer risk -- and not that the foods directly affect cancer
development.

In terms of general health, experts usually recommend
limiting red meat and saturated fat, while eating more fruits,
vegetables, whole grains and sources of "good" unsaturated fat
-- like fish, nuts and olive oil.